Brooks defines haimish as “a Yiddish word that suggests warmth, domesticity and unpretentious
conviviality.”The concept is that you
risk crossing the haimish line into a less happy existence if you blockade yourself from normal folks. Examples of doing this would include staying at super-private hotels, working solely from behind a desk, etc. As I read these articles, I took the concept a step further by thinking about the professional consequences that would arise from boxing in one's experiences.i.e. If you play golf exclusively at private and luxurious clubs, yes, you'll miss out on the congeniality of playing with weekend warriors who are making friends, drinking beers and playing for the love of the game. However, if this same person is then responsible for addressing the challenges faced by these weekend warriors, they probably wouldn't do a very good job. They'd be too far removed. The challenges themselves would fall outside the false sense of reality that their experiences had created. And thus, professionally, they'd be operating from the wrong side of the haimish line.

As I went through this intellectual exercise, I thought a lot about the golf industry.And I’ve thought a lot about this concept of
the haimish line since as several interesting headlines and observations
appeared in the first few weeks of 2012.

First, at the PGA Tour’s
season opening tournament in Kapalua, Commissioner Tim Finchem announced the Tour’s commitment to raise $100 million for The First Tee this year.Since 1997, The First Tee has been the sole
junior golf organization supported by the golf industry and it operates on a
$13 million annual budget.And yet, despite The First Tee’s claim that they’ve had 4.7 million participants, there are
less kids playing golf in the U.S. today than there were the day it was founded.(2.8 million in 1995 vs. 2.5 million in
2010 - National Golf Foundation data.) Instead of opening their doors
and offering support/resources to other youth programs, industry leaders are
doubling down on their single all-in bet.That, to me, is a decision made from the wrong side of the haimish line.

Then, earlier this week,
Finchem proposed a change to the Q School format. One of the great things about
professional golf is that anyone can pursue their dream of making it on Tour.
You don’t need to get drafted, you don’t need an agent, you don't need to be a
certain age … you just need to pass through Q School, which is open to any good
player. The new format would be a 3-tournament series that is only available to
select Nationwide and PGA Tour players, thus eliminating the opportunity for
college golfers, club pros and anyone else who’s been working meticulously on
their game to bypass the mini Tours and go straight to the big leagues. The new
format benefits existing tour players, adds three new tournaments and their corresponding
revenue, and undoubtedly builds more prestige in the Nationwide Tour (which,
perhaps coincidentally, is in need of a new title sponsor after this year). But
nevertheless, it's a closed format. Derived from closed-minded thinking that, to me, comes
from the wrong side of the haimish line.

On the flipside, Golf 2.0 has
done a great job of identifying golf’s many challenges and it has the industry’s
undivided attention.Its presence is everywhere at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando this week.The much harder and more important part is to
now identify viable solutions and execute on them.Nevertheless, I applaud the PGA for hiring
Boston Consulting Group to provide them with a sobering analysis.I also applaud them for recruiting the
perfect person to lead Golf 2.0 in Darrell Crall.These are all things happening from the right
side of the haimish line.

Additionally, the PGA of
America clearly has a new social media strategy on Twitter that is much more
active and open-minded.Historically
they would only tweet well-manicured PR messages but now they’re engaged in an
active dialogue with industry members, including retweeting criticisms and
all.I’m also a big fan of the hashtag
they’ve been promoting - #growgolf.These are smart, engaged
decisions made from the right side of the haimish line.

All of these topics require
further discussion and there are other smaller examples as well, but the point
I want to get across is this concept of this haimish line.The golf industry has been operating from the
wrong side of it for too long.And it’s
understandable – industry leaders don’t pay for golf, probably haven’t
experienced a six hour round in their professional careers and aren’t working
shoulder-to-shoulder with the PGA Pro who’s folding shirts in the shop and
struggling to get by.It’s good to see that
they’re taking steps in the right direction to understand and address the challenges being faced by golfers, industry members and the game as a whole.

With that, I have a challenge for everyone, myself included - let's make sure we spend 2012 on the right side of the haimish line.

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About Me

I’m focused on bringing an entrepreneurial approach to growing golf through innovative programs that are inclusionary, sustainable and impactful. Currently the Director of League Golf at the PGA of America. Formerly the COO of TGA Premier Golf & Tennis which I helped grow as the first employee into two of the leading franchise systems in the sports industry. Have been involved in starting three companies while also experiencing the financing side of entrepreneurship through two years in VC. Everyone has great ideas; the ones that change the world are accompanied by better execution. Happy entrepreneuring...